Yakkin’ in Gettysburg

8062011

Last week I received an invitation, totally unexpected, from Cindy Small of the Gettysburg Foundation to participate in their speaker’s program, A Sacred Trust: Gettysburg Perspectives, to be held on the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Cindy asked me to speak about a Bull Run topic, preferably one with a Gettysburg tie-in, so at 9:30 AM on Saturday, I’ll present “I had been under fire…and had felt no inclination to run”: Patrick O’Rorke at First Bull Run. I’ll be warming up the crowd for Wayne Motts. The program will run 45 minutes including questions and answers. I’ll also be available after the talk, though unlike every other speaker that day I have no books to autograph or sell – so feel free to come see me and shoot the breeze if you’re so inclined.

Others on the schedule include Troy Harman, Ethan Rafuse, Alan Guelzo, Ed Bearss, Tim Orr, John Hoptak…well, just go here for a full schedule of events.

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!